Arts
MATERIAL
girls
By Andrea Rowe Photos Yanni
M
other-daughter design duo Amanda Saunders and Rory Saunders-Shaw value vintage and savour sustainable fashion. The two are the talented designers behind Quirkie Su, makers of mindfully-made creations from upcycled materials. Their quirky and considered pieces range from Australian keepsake soft toys to re-purposed clothing created with fashionable focus in their St Andrews Beach studio. After a year of revisiting where we spend our money, and focussing on buying local, the Quirkie Su designers have found themselves a popular choice for the conscious shopper. They’re happily putting upcycling and slow fashion front-and-centre, remodelling pre-loved fabrics into clothes and toys, and made-toorder commissions. “We’re saving so much from landfill which is so important, and we love thinking through how we can repurpose and salvage material for new styles each time. We are inspired when making new pieces, and encouraging people to rethink how they can wear handmade clothing,” says Amanda. Tackling fashion’s ethical and environmental issues, and reducing landfill has been a key focus for Quirkie Su’s small batch productions for the past seven years. Rory and Amanda offer a refreshing take on fast fashion’s negative impacts on people and the planet, constantly rethinking how and where they source their materials to stitch into distinctive creations. Quirkie Su is a nod to the duo’s names, “My middle name is Sue,” says Amanda “and Rory is Rory-Sioux. Besides, we make things that are a little odd and unconventional” continued next page...
E ssence
18 | PENINSULA
May 2021